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The fascinating contrasts between President Obama’s and Sen. Cruz’s Hanukkah (Chanukah) greetings by David Bernstein compares President Obama’s and Sen. Cruz’s salutation messages regarding Hanukkah. Both greetings address Jews and non-Jews, acknowledging the importance of the festival. The speeches reveal that upholding the celebration is an important event in commemorating the justice of redemption of Jerusalem and rededication of the second temple at the beginning of the Maccabean revolt. Although both appeals have a similar aim, speakers’ language reflects their political parties’ opposing worldviews. The author successfully identifies the difference between the targeted groups and used word choice; however, he does not present any hard evidence.
President Obama and Senator Cruz express their solidarity in the Hanukkah festival marking, which is eight days long. Nevertheless, Bernstein finds out that the two messages are different in language usage, organization, clarity, among other elements. For instance, Obama uses more universalistic language, avoiding mention of God, and addresses all Jews and non-Jews worldwide who struggle for social justice. On the contrary, Senator Cruz appeals to more conservative Jewish people, thanks to Lord for the assistance, and stresses the need to protect Jews against their enemies. Such differences disclose the party affiliation of both speakers that has a contrasting worldview.
In terms of ethos, David Bernstein is a law professor who has been teaching students at George Mason University since 1995. He is an expert in constitutional history and the Volokh Conspiracy’s legal blog contributor. Moreover, Bernstein has already published several books, dozens of think tank studies, opinions, and articles (Ruszkiewicz & Dolmage, 2012). Although the author is not an expert in public speeches, it seems that he has enough knowledge, experience, and credibility to share his opinion regarding two Hanukkah greetings. As a historian, he knows enough about Judaism and aware of the Jews’ thorny path to social justice and safety. It helped him compare the meanings of words and grasp contrasting messages of Obama and Cruz.
The structure of Obama’s greeting more appeals to logic than one given by Cruz. The former president makes clear and concise statements conveying the relatively shorter speech. For that reason, his message is more visible and comprehensible for the bigger audience in contrast to Senator’s one. The use of straightforward wording and precise terminology by Obama contrasts to Cruz’s discourse that involves historical events and religious leaders. For instance, the former says, “It’s a chance to reflect on the triumph of liberty over tyranny, the rejection of persecution, and on the miracles that can happen even in our darkest hours” (Bernstein, 2015). These lines just show Obama’s understanding of the festival in a highly concise manner that reveals a deep engagement with logos. On the contrary, Senator Cruz’s speech is based on an appeal to emotions.
Senator Cruz focuses on creating an emotional response to the religion and history of Jewish people. His greeting aims to elicit the audience’s emotions in contrast to the logical and humble language used by Obama. To fulfill this aim, he resorts to God mentioning his immense assistance to Jews supporting their justice struggle. For instance, Cruz proclaims: “As the Talmud teaches God delivered many into the hands of a few….” (Bernstein, 2015). He also names all of the current threats to Jews, including the BDS movement, radical Islam terror, and anti-Semitic attacks. It evokes powerful emotions in the audience as they recall recent events of oppression or intolerance. On the contrary, President Obama even avoids mentioning a particular evil force Maccabees should be protected from.
Both President Obama and Sen. Cruz delivered speeches dedicated to recognizing the Hanukah festival observed by Jews in commemorating their deliverance and justice. Bernstein analyzed those greetings and spotted the main differences in politicians’ worldviews. Obama uses clear, sort, and general terms in his speech. At the same time, Cruz hints at the involvement of supernatural being in the Jew’s victory and justice, uses a bit longer paragraphs which are harder to remember. These messages explore ethos, pathos, and logos in different ways.
References
Bernstein, D. (2015). The fascinating contrast between President Obama’s and Sen. Cruz’s Hanukkah (Chanukah) greetings. The Washington Post.
Ruszkiewicz, J. J., & Dolmage, J. T. (2012). How to write anything: A guide and reference with readings. Macmillan.
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